Polanski ruffled feathers during at-times grumpy contest and now has to bring the party with him
OK, now they’ve got your attention. In electing Zack Polanski, a media-friendly former actor with an eye-catching vision for a mass movement of “eco-populism”, the Greens have taken a step into the unknown. And the first task for Polanski is to bring the party with him.
Green leadership contests are generally quite polite. This time it has been different, in part due to the personalities but mainly because of the very different visions on offer.
The vanquished duo of Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns represented the nearest thing the Greens have to an establishment – two of the party’s four MPs, beneficiaries of a patient and gradual electoral push, promising more of the same.
While Polanski is hardly an outsider, having been deputy leader since 2022, his critique was pointed: progress was happening too slowly and the Greens risked being left behind, not least by a Reform party already much bigger in membership and poll numbers.
